


never let it hold me down

by annabethsperseus



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Argo II (Percy Jackson), Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Missing Scene, One Shot, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), Protectiveness, Reminiscing, a tiny bit of angst if you squint, bc percy and annabeth don't do enough of it in hoo, let percy and annabeth be happy challenge, minor reference to trauma, takes place right before BoO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:41:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24846229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabethsperseus/pseuds/annabethsperseus
Summary: For the first time since they fell into Tartarus, she’s not going to be with Percy, the one person she could trust unequivocally to watch her back. She counts on him being by her side so much that she’s worried if she loses sight of him for too long, the earth will rip out from under her feet – that the images still flashing behind her eyelids will become real again and she’ll be pulled back into the pit, with nobody to catch her this time.or; Percy says goodbye to Annabeth before she leaves to face the suitors.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 124





	never let it hold me down

**Author's Note:**

> takes place like fifteen minutes before blood of olympus starts, when annabeth is getting ready to face the suitors at odysseus's palace. i didn't delve deep into the post-tartarus trauma because it's so recent that i don't know if it would have set in for them yet.
> 
> i have not written fic in months so this is probably terrible. i'm also going to post this on my tumblr (annabethsperseus) if you'd like to read it there. 
> 
> title is from ‘lose myself’ by k?d

“You look hot,” Percy calls as he wanders onto the deck. Annabeth feels her face heat up for reasons unrelated to the Greek humidity. He presses himself against the rail, wrapping an arm around her gold-banded torso. She continues to fuss with her blonde chignon, but she presses her head into his shoulder. “Reminds me of Circe’s island.”

Annabeth laughs at the memory, despite the anxiety and adrenaline rushing through her veins. Her white, Greek-style dress _is_ reminiscent of the makeover she had when she was thirteen. Of course, she doesn’t remember her outfit as much as the events directly after that – discovering Percy in guinea pig form, releasing Blackbeard and his pirates, stealing the _Queen Anne’s Revenge_.

“My hair doesn’t look as good,” she points out, her hand still entangled in her hair. Piper and Hazel tried their best, but Annabeth hates the restriction of the tight bun, and her curls keep slipping out.

“You still look beautiful.” Percy tucks one of her many stray curls behind her ear. “Maybe _too_ beautiful.” Annabeth can feel his forearm tense around her waist. She stops working on her hair for a moment and shifts to see him more clearly. His eyebrows are furrowed and jaw is clenched in the way they always are when he’s worried, angry, or both.

“I know you don’t like this mission – ”

“What’s not to like about you flirting with a hundred, famously _awful_ dead guys?” Annabeth can tell that he’s trying to keep his tone light-hearted, but his undertone still sounds sincere. 

She knows that the mission itself isn’t what’s bothering him. Well, the expedition to Ithaca isn’t ideal, to say the least. Percy’s not wrong that the suitors are pretty terrible, and their plan B is questionable at best, but the entire crew knows it’s something they have to do – Katoptris was confirmation enough, but Hazel sensed something dark there, too. Both Percy and Annabeth know that she has to go – Odysseus was one of Athena’s favorites, so a child of Athena ought to be the one to go to his palace, and Annabeth knows more Greek history than the rest of the crew, which will undoubtedly come in handy.

However, it’s also the first mission that either of them is going on since coming back from Tartarus, and Annabeth’s going _alone_. She doesn’t want to admit how utterly terrified she is. For the first time since they fell into Tartarus, she’s not going to be with Percy, the one person she could trust unequivocally to watch her back. He hasn’t been away from her for longer than an hour since they dragged themselves through the Doors of Death. She counts on him being by her side so much, that she’s worried if she loses sight of him for too long, the earth will rip out from under her feet – that the images still flashing behind her eyelids will become real and she’ll be pulled into the pit again, with nobody to catch her this time.

She doesn't like _needing_ somebody else this much, but even the cruelest of gods would admit that her dependence is perfectly reasonable - Percy is the one person who has never left her, and she's not intending on letting him get away now, after everything they've been through. 

Almost unconsciously, she burrows her head further into the crook of his neck. “I’ll be careful,” she says, a promise to both Percy and herself. 

“I know.” Percy tugs her a little closer to his chest. She can’t tell if the salty sea scent is from him or the water, but she’s certain that the faint drumming she hears is coming from his heart. “I just wish I could go with you.”

Annabeth sighs a little into his neck. She wishes he were coming, too. Jason put his foot down and decided to come along with Piper, but Percy has to stay behind and watch the sea for any threats. Besides, three is the ideal number for a quest. Even though Annabeth knows her mission is far more troublesome, she still worries about what might happen to Percy if she’s gone. Contrary to what she told Reyna, Percy can definitely handle himself, but what if she’s not there to tell him the right myth or take a dagger for him?

She chides herself for the doomsday thinking. She has enough on her plate already; she doesn’t need to worry about what will happen in the sanctuary of the _Argo II_. Even if her instincts are screaming at her to drop everything and worry only for Percy, she knows that she can’t afford to get distracted from her own task.

Annabeth finally responds after a beat. “It’ll be fine. With any luck, we won’t have to fight our way out of there.”

Percy gives a sharp little laugh that Annabeth can feel resounding from his chest. “When have we ever been lucky?”

Despite the bleakness of the statement, Annabeth finds herself laughing, too, because it’s Percy, and his sarcastic quip is just as applicable now as it was when they were twelve. It takes her back to better times, if exploding a New Jersey bus and fighting Medusa could be considered that.

As Percy drops a kiss onto her temple, Annabeth lets her eyes flutter shut, content with the feeling of his arms around her and the sounds of the waves crashing against the boat. If she ignores the scratchiness of her chiton and the press of the ship’s railing against her stomach, maybe she can pretend they’re standing on the firework beach back home, looking over the Long Island Sound. This certainly isn’t one of their better times – when she returns from this mission, they’re still sailing off to face their greatest threat yet, and Annabeth doesn’t think the full weight of their most recent traumatic experience has even set in yet – but being with Percy for just one moment makes her feel like it is.

Of course, their moment of respite is interrupted by Jason’s shout, calling Annabeth to the hull. She opens her eyes and starts to pull away, but Percy quickly, yet firmly, kisses her.

“Good luck,” he whispers, and she smiles against his lips. Their good-luck kisses are a little bit of a tradition, and receiving one makes her feel a tiny bit better about her mission. For all their bad luck, they’re still alive, which means some of it must have been good.

“I’ll come back to you,” Annabeth says as he pulls away. “I promise.” It’s probably a bad idea to run around making promises – _an oath to keep with final breath_ and all – but she and Percy have promised more to each other already, and even then, Annabeth can’t think of a better promise to risk her life for. “And don’t get into too much trouble without me.” 

“I never do,” Percy chuckles. She can feel him watching her as she lifts her amphora and walks to the hull, her hair already spilling out of its chignon, and despite how angry she is with all of them, she hopes to the gods that she'll see him again soon.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading & please drop a review if you feel so inclined! 
> 
> tumblr: annabethsperseus.tumblr.com


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